Container and method of manufacture



15, 1949. A. B. WILSON CONTAINER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 23, 1944 INVENTOR. AAlf/V 8. [Al/4J0 Filed Dec. 23; 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ALL. EN 8 w/Lso/v BY Patented Feb. 15, 1949 CONTAINER AND METHOD or MANUFACTURE Allen B. Wilson, Evanston, Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, of one-half to Kimberly Stuart and one-half to Elizabeth R. B. Stuart, both of Menasha, Wis.

Application December 23, 1944, Serial No. 569,610

This invention relates to improvements in containers and the method of manufacturing the same and has particular reference to a paper or fiber container reinforced with metal rims or beads.

It has been known to provide small paper or fiber containers such as pie plates having their. edges reinforced by clamped on sheet metal rims or beads and it has also been known to provide large paper or fiber drums having elaborate metal rims for securing the beads to the drums.

While such drums provide satisfactory containers or containers especially for dry or powdered material of relatively light weight, they are subject to various disadvantages which it is among the objects of the present invention to overcome. a

Paper or fiber drums now in use are, so far as I am aware, relatively heavy and expensive structures which must be completely finished at the factory before shipping and which require a large amount of expensive special machinery to manufacture the metal rims and tightly secure the paper or fiber portions thereto.

It is therefore a major object of the present invention to provide a shipping drum or container which can be economically produced by simple manufacturing processes without the necessity of expensive specialized machinery.

A further object resides in the provision of a shipping drum or container the parts of which may be shipped flat to save shipping space and assembled at the location when the drums are to be filled.

A still further object resides in the provision of a shipping drum or container formed of sheet material such as paper or fiber with firmly attached metal reinforcing members, one at each end thereof.

An additional object resides in the provision of an improved method of manufacturing metal reinforced paper or fiber shipping drums or containers.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description when considered with the accompanying drawings and from the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings, in which like reference. numerals are used to designate similar parts throughout, illustrate a suitable embodiment for the purpose of disclosing the invention and certain important steps in the improved manufacturing method. The drawings however, are for purposes of illustration only and are not to be taken in a limiting or restrictive sense as it 5 Claims. (Cl. 229-55) will be apparent to those skilled in the art that .is formed;

various changes in the illustrated embodiment may be 'resorted to without in any way exceeding Figure 2 is an isometric projection of an end closure wall of the improved container;

Figure 3- is 'a longitudinal sectional view of a complete container taken substantially diametrically thereof;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of a preliminary step in the improved method of fabricating metal reinforced paper or fiber containers; and

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of a final step in the improved method of fabricating the containers.

With continued reference to the drawings, the numeral l0 generally indicates a sheet of heavy paper-like material, which may be of a suitable paper or fiber composition, from which the side wall or body portion of the improved drum-shaped container is made. Preferably, the opposite lateral edges of sheet l0 are divided by a suitable die stamping operation into series of tabs, as.

indicated at l2 and I4, segments of sheet material being removed between the tabs for a purpose to be described. The edge portions of the sheet are then folded over so that the tabs form substantially continuous flanges which lie in contact with the corresponding surfaces of the strip. Metal reinforcing beads or rims as indicated at l6 and I8 are then applied, one to each edge of the strip. These reinforcing rims arepreferably formed of sheet metal and are generally C-shaped in cross-section asis clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 3., These strips are clamped onto-the folded over edges of the sheet III in a manner such that the opposite lateral edges of the reinforcing members bite into and grip the paperin Figure 3, are formed from sheets of paper-like material to provide end closures of the size and shape desired. In the drawings the drum has been illustrated as a cylindrical body of circular cross-section as this is a particularly convenient shape to manufacture. The cross-sectional shape however may be other than circular without in any way exceeding the scope of the invention.

One of the end walls, for example the top wall in the form illustrated, is provided with a central aperture 24 in which is inserted a sheet metal lining or bushing 26 doubled back on itself to provide over-lapping flanges 28 and 30 which receive between them and are secured to the edge portion of the end wall immediately surrounding the aperture 24. The bushing 26 may be internally screw threaded between flanges 28 and 30, as indicated at 32, and the aperture may be closed by a removable screw plug 34 which may be made of sheet metal or any desired material threaded with bushing 26. When plug 34 is tightened it aids in securing bushing 26 to top wall 20. Bottom wall 22 is preferably a single flat sheet of fiberboard or the like of suitable shape.

After sheet in has been reinforced along its side edges and cut to proper length to provide body portions for containers of the desired shape and size, and the end wall members 20 and 22 have been formed, these parts may if desired be shipped in flat condition to the location at which the containers are to be sold and there assembled to provide the complete containers. This method saves materially in shipping space and greatly reduces the ultimate cost of the containers, and the method of assembly is so simple and may be carried out with such a small amount of machinery that the assembly of the container parts into the complete containers does not impose a serious burden on the user of the containers.

When the containers are to be assembled, the reinforced body portion sheets In are run through a bending machine such as is diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 4. Such a machine may comprise a main roller 36 and a pair of auxiliary rollers 38 and 40 dimensioned and arranged to provide the proper curvature as the body member is passed through the machine. These rollers are provided with registering grooves to receive and confine the reinforcing rims l6 and i8 and, as these rims are longitudinally bent to an annular or circular form, their grip on the edge portions of sheet i0 is substantially increased. Care is taken not to materially deform the C- shaped cross-section of rim strips l6 and i8.

After the reinforced strips have been bent to the desired form, an end portion of the sheet, such as the flap portion 42 of Figure 1, overlies the opposite end of the sheet and the overlapping end portions are then secured togethe;- by suitable means such as metal wire stitching performed by a suitable stitching machine. Preferably this side wall seam is glued before stitching to prevent sifting out of powdered contents.

If desired, body Ill may be made in any desired manner such as by spirally winding paper or like strips on a suitable mandrel, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

After the body portion of the container has been formed in the manner indicated above, internal flanges made up of the tabs l2 and II are bent away from the container side walls so that they are disposed substantially at right angles to the body portion and the apertured end closure 20 is inserted in the body portion and positioned to lie with its periphery flush against the tab surfaces which face the interior of the container. The tabs are then. secured to this end closure wall by some suitable means as staples 2i.

According to the preferred method of the invention, the tabs are stitched to the end wall by a stitching machine as diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 5. This machine has a base 44 from which a standard 46 extends upwardly o a. cross arm 48 which carries a stitching head 5 An elongated, rod-like, anvil member 52 is mounted at its lower end on the base by a suitable pivotal support generally indicated at 54 and extends upwardly to a position immediately below the stitch or staple hammer 56. The stanchion or anvil member 52 can be swung dutwardly relative to the standard 46 so that the container can be inserted over the end thereof and the stitching operation then accomplished around the edge of the container. Top container wall 20 is stitched in place by positioning the body Ill with wall 20 frictionally held or preferably glued therein so that anvil 52 projects through the opposite open end of the body, a position the reverse of that illustrated in Figure 5 After the apertured end wall 20 has been secured in position by suitable means such as by stitching in the manner described above, the unapertured bottom end wall, 22 is inserted in the body portion of the drum, this being permitted by the flexibility of the tab flanges and wall 22, and positioned and adhesively secured against the surfaces of the corresponding tabs l4 which face the interior of the drum.

The drum may then be associated with the stitching machine of Figure 5 by inserting the drum over the anvil member 52 with this member extending through the aperture 24 and the corresponding tabs may then be stitched to the end closure wall 22 entirely around the corresponding end of the container, as by staples 23, after which the completed container may be removed from the machine. By this method the rough ends of the staples are located internally of the container and do not offer snagging projections.

After a container is filled through the aperture 24. the screw plug closure 34 may be operatively associated with the bushing 26 to close the container.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A container comprising a hollow body with a continuous side wall formed of a sheet of paperlike material having reversely bent internal flanges along the two edges thereof at the ends of said container, sheet metal reinforcing rims of generally C-shaped cross-section clenched along and about said edges with the opposite lateral edges of said rims biting into the material of said sheet and flange respectively, the portion of each flange beyond its associated rim being formed into a series of radially inwardly projecting tabs;

and end walls for the container each formed from a sheet of paper-like material disposed within said body portion at the inner side of the corresponding series of tabs and secured to said tabs.

2. The method of manufacturing metal reinforced containers which comprises providing a sheet of paper-like material along each side edge thereof corresponding to the container ends with a flange strip having its inner portion divided into a series of tabs; clamping a sheet metal reinforcing rim of generally O-shaped cross-section along each of said edges in a manner such that said rims secure said flange strips to said sheet, bending said reinforced sheet to a closed hollow form with overlapping end portions, securing said overlapping end portions together to provide the container body, bending said tabs toward the interior of said body substantially at right angles to said sheet, providing end closure walls of paper-like material, inserting said end walls into said formed sheet to seat on said tabs within said body; and securing said tabs to the correspond- 5. A container comprising a generally cylindrical body portion formed of a sheet of paper-like material having its ends overlapping and-secured together, internal circumferential flange strips adjacent each end of said body and having a series of tabs which extend radially inwardly from said body portion, a sheet metal reinforcing head of generally circular cross section at each end of said body portion clamping the ends of the body portion to said flange strips, and end walls each formed from a sheet of paper-like material disposed within said body portion and secured to said tabs.

ALLEN B. WILSON.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 676,747 Grim June 18, 1901 1,793,101 Labombarde Feb. 17, 1931 1,941,619 Page Jan. 2, 1934 2,007,191 Goez July 9, 1935 2,056,956 Carpenter Oct. 13, 1936 2,129,793 Smith "Sept. 13, 1938 2,141,717 Lebold et al Dec. 27, 1938 2,200,295 Peters May 14, 1940 2,281,889 Stuart et al. May 5, 1942 2,320,684 Van Saun et al. June 1, 1943 2,350,278 Hines May 30, 1944 

